Swine activated feeder with actuation sensor

ABSTRACT

A sensor assembly on a swine-activated self-feeder allows monitoring or tracking of individual animal feeding activity, thereby allowing corrective action to be taken in instances of under-feeding or over-feeding by an animal. The sensor assembly includes a sensor on the feed dispenser and, with a printed circuit board to generate a signal corresponding to activation of the dispenser by an animal. The signal can be sent to a computer or website which generates reports on the individual animal&#39;s feeding activity.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Provisional Application U.S. Ser.No. 62/757,464, filed on Nov. 8, 2018, which is herein incorporated byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the hog industry, proper feeding of gilts and sows is important tothe health of the animal, as well as the overall productivity andprofitability of the farming operation. As described in Applicant's U.S.Pat. No. 9,220,236 issued on Dec. 29, 2015, feeding systems includecommunity self-feeding wherein numerous animals feed at a commonstation, or alternatively, individual stall feeders in the gestationbarn. Transitioning from the group feeding to the individual feeder maybe problematic or difficult for some animals, if they over-feed orunder-feed. Therefore, to optimize the overall farming operation, it isimportant to monitor or track the feeding activity of the individualanimals.

Accordingly, a primary objective of the present invention is theprovision of a sensor associated with a swine-powered self-feeder tomonitor feeding activity of individual swine.

Another objective of the present invention is a provision of a method oftracking feeding activity of individual swine, by sensing actuation of aswine-powered dispenser on a self-feeder so as to generate data forevaluation of the feeding activity for an individual animal.

A further objective of the present invention is the provision of afeeding system to track individual animal feeding activities.

Yet another objective of the present invention is a provision of animprovement to a swine-activated self-feeder utilizing a sensor tomonitor an individual animal.

A further objective of the present invention is the provision of afeeding activity sensor which tracks different animals via RFIDtechnology, or by facial or body recognition.

Still another objective of the present invention is a provision of ananimal feeder having a feed dispenser movable by the animal to dischargefeed from a feed supply line and a sensor operatively connected to thedispenser to generate a signal in response to movement of the dispenserby the animal, to thereby track the feeding activity and measure theamount of feed consumed by the animal.

These and other objectives become apparent from the followingdescription of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS AND PHOTOGRAPHS

FIG. 1 is a schematic sketch of a farrowing crate having a conventionalfeed hopper and drop tube, with the dispenser in the lower end of thetube for actuation by a swine, and a sensor on the dispenser, accordingto the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the lower end of the drop tube with arotatable dispenser for actuation by the swine, and the sensor.

FIG. 3A is an end view of the tube and dispenser with the spokes in afirst position.

FIG. 3B is a view similar to FIG. 3A with the spokes in a second rotatedposition.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the dispenser taken along lines 4-4 ofFIG. 3A.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the dispenser taken along lines 5-5 ofFIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a front view of an individual feed station having aself-activated feed tube and sensor according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a rear perspective view of the feed station of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is another view showing the sensor and circuit board, accordingto the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an alternative view of the feed dispense with a verticalorientation.

FIG. 10 is a close-up view showing the feed dispenser for the verticalfeeding tube shown in FIG. 9 and having a magnet on the rotatable finfor sensing by a Hall-effect sensor.

FIG. 11 is a schematic flow chart of one embodiment of the sensor andcontrols of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is another schematic flow chart of a second embodiment of theinvention for use with an RFID tag on an animal.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed toward an improvement to Applicant'ssow gestation and farrowing tube feeder shown and described in U.S. Pat.No. 9,220,236, which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

A conventional sow farrowing crate is schematically shown in FIG. 1 anddesignated by the reference numeral 10. The stall 10 is one of manyplaced side-by-side in a gestation barn. A feeding system in the barnprovides feed for each stall 10. More particularly, the feeding systemfor each stall 10 includes a hopper 12 with a gravity drop tube 14having a lower end 16 adjacent the floor of the stall 10. The hopper 12can be loaded in a known manner, such as by an auger system or manualfilling, so that feed fills the tube 14.

As an alternative to the crate 10, the feed system may be utilized witha feed station 11 (FIGS. 6-8) with the tube 14 depositing feed into apan or bowl 18 near the bottom or floor of the feed station. The feedstation may also include a water line 15 to provide water into the bowl18 via a hog-activated nipple in the end of the line 15.

The feed tube dispenser 20 is in the form of an insert which fits intothe lower end 16 of the tube 14 so as to convert the tube 14 from astandard gravity drop system to a self-feeding or ad libitum system.More particularly, the dispenser 20 includes a cylindrical body orhousing 22 which matingly fits inside the lower end 16 of the tube 14,as best seen in FIG. 4. The body 22 may be secured, latched, or fixed inthe tube 14 by a set screw 24, a self-tapping screw, or any otherconvenient means. Preferably, the screw 24 does not extend through thebody 22.

The body 22 includes an upper plate 26 and a lower plate 28 fixed at theopposite ends of the body. The upper plate has a feed inlet 30preferably located on a lower portion of the plate, for example, at the6 o'clock position. The lower plate 28 has a feed outlet 32 on an upperportion of the plate, for example, at the 12 o'clock position. Thus, theinlet 30 and outlet 32 are offset with respect to one another. Theplates 26, 28 rotatably support an axle 34 extending through the plates.A plurality of fins 36 extends radially outwardly from the axle 34 andhave outer edges in close proximity to the interior wall of the body 22,as best seen in FIG. 5. A washer 38 is mounted on the axle 34 adjacentthe plates 26, 28, so as to space the upper and lower ends of the fins36 from the plates 26, 28, as shown in FIG. 4.

A spinner or actuator comprising a plurality of spokes 40 extendsradially outwardly from the lower end of the axle 34, outside of thebody 22. Preferably, the outer ends of the spokes 40 extend beyond theperimeter of the body 22. While the drawings show four spokes 40, it isunderstood that the number and shape of spokes 40 may vary from thatshown in the drawings.

A stirring device 42, such as a bar or finger, is fixed on the upper endof the axle 34 so as to rotate with the axle. The bar 42 residesupstream from the upper plate 26 so as to stir feed in the tube 14, andthereby prevent clogging or bridging of the feed within the tube 14. Thestirring device 42 may be any shape, or size, or material to stir thefeed in the tube 14, including a rigid or flexible member.

In an alternative embodiment, shown in FIG. 9, the feeding system has avertical tube 14A connected to the hopper, and the dispenser 20A has anupper inlet 20A and a lower outlet 32A, shown in FIG. 10. The dispenser20A functions similarly to the dispenser 20 to provide feed on demandwhen the animal spins the spokes 40, so that feed drops from the tubeoutlet 15A. The vertical orientation allows feed chambers in thedispenser to be filled completely for better feed flow and measuring offeed passing through the dispenser 20A, as compared to the slopeddispenser 20 of FIGS. 1-8.

In use, when the dispenser 20 is installed in the tube 14, the plates26, 28 effectively close the lower end of the tube 14, which is normallyopen in a conventional drop tube feeder. Thus, the dispenser 20 preventsfeed from being discharged from the tube 14 until a gilt or sow in thestall 10 nudges the spokes 40 to rotate the axle 34. Such rotation ofthe axle 34 also rotates the attached fins 36, such that feed which hasentered the body 22 of the dispenser 20 through the inlet 30 in theupper plate 26 is carried upwardly by the fins 36 along the inner wallof the body 22 for discharge through the feed outlet 32 in the lowerplate 28. Since the tube 14 is angled downwardly, as seen in FIGS. 1 and4, feed carried by the fins 36 to the outlet 32 will discharge bygravity over the spokes 40 and onto the floor of the stall or feed panor bowl 18 for consumption by the gilt or sow. Also, the depth of thespokes 40 carries the feed beyond the lower plate 28 so as to depositthe feed further from the lower end 16 of the tube 14, for easier accessby the gilt or sow or growing market hog.

The structure of the various components of the dispenser 20 can bemodified without departing from the scope of the present invention. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 4, the upper end of the body 22 is shown to becut at an angle of approximately 45° which facilitates assembly of thebody 22 inside the tube 14. This angle can be more or less than thatshown in the drawings or can be eliminated. Also, the shape of the fins36 may be modified, such as a curved, cup-like surface, or maybe anauger flighting to carry feed from the inlet 30 to the outlet 32.

The device 20 can be quickly and easily retrofit into the feed tube 14for each stall or crate 10 in a gestation or farrowing barn. While thevolume of the feed provided to the gilt or sow is controlled by thevolume in the hopper 12, the gilt or sow controls the timing of the feeddischarge into the bowl or pan 18 by actuation of the spokes 40. Sincethe gilt or sow will actuate the self-feeder device 20 of the presentinvention when she is hungry, the animal will consume the dischargedfeed, substantially reducing or eliminating feed waste which occurs witha conventional drop feed system. Also, since there is no waste feedbeing washed out of the stall or crate 10 by the cleaning system,clogging of drain troughs by waste feed is eliminated, thereby savinglabor costs and time.

The improvement to the tube feeder described above relates to a sensorand method for tracking or monitoring the feeding activity of individualsows or market hog. More particularly, as shown in FIGS. 1-8, a sensorassembly 100 is provided on the feed tube 14. In a preferred embodiment,the assembly 100 includes a Hall-effect sensor 102 mounted on the feedtube 14, a magnet 104 mounted on one of the fins 36, and a printedcircuit board (PCB) 106 operatively connected to the sensor 102 viawires 102 or wirelessly. One example of the sensor 102 which can beutilized in the sensor assembly 100 of the present invention, is the SR4series Magneto Resistive Digital Position Sensor sold by Honeywell. Seehttps://sensing.honeywell.com/SR4P3-A1-value-added-magnetic-sensors.

In the alternative vertical feed system of FIG. 9, the sensor assembly100 is mounted on the rear end of the dispense 20A, rather than on thetube 14.

When the sow turns the spokes 40 to dispense feed from the tube 14, themagnet 104 moves past the sensor 102 so as to generate a signalcorresponding to the swine's actuation of the feeder system. The circuitboard 106 logs the rotations of the spokes 40 and transmits this datawirelessly to a computer or microprocessor, such as CPU 108, or to awebsite which can then provide feedback to the operator regarding theindividual animal's feeding activity. One example of such a website iswww.thingspeak.com, which is an open IoT analytics platform which allowsdata to be collected for private or public use, via the cloud. The datais transmitted via the circuit board 106 to the processor ormicroprocessor 108, which stores the data and generates reports 110 ondemand. For example, the reports can be a plot for each feeder, showinga timeline of when each sow or pig activated the spokes 40 of thespecific feeder. The plots and other data generated by the sensor 102and circuit board 106 can be used to evaluate whether individual animalsare under-feeding or over-feeding, so that corrective action can betaken.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the sensor assembly 100can be used on a community feeding station in conjunction with anadditional identification device 112 to identify specific sows orgrowing pigs for monitoring their respective individual feedingactivity. For example, the device 112 can be an RFID tag with each sowor pig can have a personalized RFID tag which is detected in a knownmanner when the animal activates the dispenser 20. Another example isfor the device 112 to be a camera for individual animal recognition,such as facial and body recognition. Thus, the sensor assembly 100 canprovide specific feeding activity information and data regarding eachanimal which uses a common feeder.

For example, the sensor assembly may also be used on each feeder stationas shown in Applicant's co-pending application Ser. No. 16/415,407 filedon May 17, 2019, entitled Wet/Dry Feeder for Swine, and incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety. Thus, the sensor assembly 100 ofthe present invention allows the farmer or operator to track or monitorindividual feeding activity in both separate feeder stalls or communityfeeding environments. The individual feeding activity can be plotted orcharted, and notifications can be sent to the operator to provide alertsfor changes in feeding activity for specific animals.

It is understood that other types of motion sensors can be utilized,other than the Hall-effect sensor 102 described above. Also, additionalsoftware can be developed to provide desired feedback regarding the sowfeeding activity. Thus, the overall swine feeding operation can beclosely monitored for improved animal health, productivity, andprofitability.

The feed system of the present invention can be used to report theamount of feed dispensed into individual feeder, pen, or whole barnwhich aids in feed inventory tracking, feed ordering, and evaluatinghealth of the barn or individual pigs being tracked. The feed system canalso be used to report the size of the individual pig being trackedbased on how much feed has been consumed.

It is also understood that the feed monitoring system and method of thepresent invention can be used for similar feed systems used by animalsother than swine, wherein the animal manually actuates dispensement offeed on an individual, ad lib basis, rather than a motorized or timedfeed dispensing system.

The invention has been shown and described above with the preferredembodiments, and it is understood that many modifications,substitutions, and additions may be made which are within the intendedspirit and scope of the invention. From the foregoing, it can be seenthat the present invention accomplishes at least all of its statedobjectives.

What is claimed:
 1. A swine-activated self-feeder, comprising: a feedtube having a lower end; a rotatable dispenser in the lower end of thefeed tube to discharge feed from the tube when the dispenser is rotatedby the swine; a sensor associated with the dispenser to sense rotationof the dispenser so as to monitor feeding activity of the swine.
 2. Theself-feeder of claim 1 wherein the sensor includes a magnet on thedispenser and a counter on the feed tube.
 3. The self-feeder of claim 1further comprising a printed circuit board (PCB) mounted on the feedtube to gather dispenser rotation data.
 4. The self-feeder of claim 3further comprising a storage device operatively connected to the PCB toreceive data from the PCB.
 5. The self-feeder of claim 1 wherein thesensor is a Hall effect sensor.
 6. The self-feeder of claim 1 furthercomprising an animal identification device to identify individualanimals.
 7. A method of tracking feeding activity of swine, comprising:providing feed on demand from a self-feeder wherein the swing actuatesdischarge of feed from the self-feeder; sensing swine actuation of theself-feeder; generating data corresponding to the sensed swine actuationof the feeder; and evaluating the data to track the swine feedingactivity.
 8. The method of claim 7 wherein the self-feeder is actuatedby the swine rotating a dispenser in a lower end of the feed tube. 9.The method of claim 8 wherein the dispenser includes a magnet forsensing by a sensor to count rotations of the dispenser.
 10. The methodof claim 7 wherein the data includes time of day of actuation.
 11. Themethod of claim 7 wherein the data includes frequency of actuation. 12.The method of claim 7 wherein the sensing step utilizes a Hall effectsensor.
 13. The method of claim 7 further comprising identifying theswine with an RFID tag.
 14. An animal feeder, comprising: a foodreceptacle; a feed supply line with an outlet to direct feed into thereceptacle; a dispenser in the outlet of the feed supply line; thedispenser being movable by an animal to discharge feed from the feedsupply line into the food receptacle; and a sensor operatively connectedto the dispenser to sense movement of the dispenser and generate asignal in response to the movement.
 15. The animal feeder of claim 14wherein the dispenser is rotatably mounted adjacent the outlet of thefeed supply line.
 16. The animal feeder of claim 14 wherein the signalrepresents feeding activity of the animal and the volume of feeddispensed.
 17. The animal feeder of claim 14 further comprising amicroprocessor to receive and store the signals from the sensor.
 18. Theanimal feeder of claim 17 further comprising an identification device toidentify each animal who uses the feeder.
 19. The animal feeder of claim18 wherein the identification device is an RFID tag on the animal. 20.The animal feeder of claim 18 wherein the identification device is afacial or body recognition camera.
 21. The animal feeder of claim 14wherein the sensor is a Hall effect sensor.
 22. The animal feeder ofclaim 14 further comprising a PCB operatively connected to the sensor.